Oil well mast



March 23, 1948. R. E. FIFE Er A1. 2,438,277

OIL WELL MAST AFim Jan. s, 1945 Lunlnhlnn l nuunlnndll nnhnnnnun. l..

:inventor RoY E. FIFE ROY E. FnFE JR.

Patented Mar. 23, 1948 OIL WELL MAST Royv E. Fife and Roy E. Fife, Jr.,Longl Beach, Calif.

Application January 3, 1945, Serial No. 571,178

1 claim. 1

This invention relates to oil well apparatus and particularly toapparatus for servicing the well; for instance, to remove such adjunctsas casings, sleeves, and the like.

It is sometimes the practice to provide but a single derrick for boringa number of wells, and to disassemble and remove the derrick from afinished well and carry it to another location for use in drilling a newwell. After the derrick has been removed from the well, needs for thehoisting function of the derrick still arise, particularly when it comesto the matter of pulling pump rod casings, etc., from the now operatingwell. In the absence of the derrick, however, it is quite a problem toprovide proper service of this kind for the well.

It is an object of the invention to provide a substitute for derrickswhich will be so constructed thatl it can be readily transported fromone derrickless well to another, for servicing same in a mannerequivalent to some of the functions of a derrick. y

In furtherance of the preceding object, it is also an aim of theinvention to provide a portable, extensible and folding mast apparatus,unitarily associated with a source of operating power, for pullingcasings, etc., from derrickless Wells, whichwill include aself-contained, permanently rigged block and tackle system.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a portable oil wellmast and pulling rig so constructed that it can be bodily removed as aunit, from the transporting vehicle and permanently mounted on theground, in juxtaposition with the well or pithead. In this case, theends of the mast can, if desired, be sunk into concrete anchoringfoundations, one on each lateral side of the well.

Most masts or pulling rigs have to be erected, extended and operated bymeans of a motor driven drum and cable system associated with the mastfor that purpose alone, and hence, require the use of a rather largenumber of parts and 'lines to obtain the necessary pulling action.

It is an object of this invention to provide a pulling rig which willnot necessitate a, motor driven drum system for erecting, extending oroperating same, and yet will be more rapid and powerful in its actionthan the winch type of mast. The mast also will necessitate theemployment of a. lesser number of parts and lines thanis usual for evenless powerful apparatus of this type. Among the advantageous resultsensuing from this feature can be mentioned the saving of wear on thecable and lines due to the fact that they are not subjected to a winchand drum action.

In furtherance of the preceding object, it is also an object of theinvention to provide an extensible mast having a block and tacklelifting system associated with a faisable crown, the

crown being adapted to be raised to activate the block and tacklesystem,` which system will be simpler and more powerful than the usualsystem.

It is contemplated that the crown be raised by such simple, yetpowerfulI means as hydraulic jacks associated with the mast. The blockand tackle system, connected to the crown, will then act to multiply thealready powerful lifting effort produced by the hydraulic raising of thecrown. Since, in the present hydraulic mast all the operating stress islocalized and confined to the vertical mast, the hoisting parts do nothave to be anchored or tied down by special instrumentalities as in thewinch-operated masts where the strain is angled with reference to themast or to the top thereof.

A further4 feature of the invention resides in the fact that the erectedmast will sit vertically over the well, so that despite its high pullingpower, it willnot be subjected to unbalanced bending forces inoperation.

The other inventive concepts, objects and features will be made manifestas this disclosure progresses.

The presently-preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated, byway of example only, in the accompanying drawings and described in thefollowing specification, but it is to be understood that the inventionis limited in its embodimental forms, only by the scope of the subjoinedclaim.

In these drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the portable pulling ring. foldablymounted on a vehicle and in position over a well for pulling a casingtherefrom;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof, and

Fig. 3 is a. detailed sectional view'on line 3-3 of Fig. l..

The embodiment illustrated includes a pulling rig or mast group, I, anda mast transporting vehicle .2, containing a source of hydraulic powerconnected to the mast by the piping shown.

The, mast group includes a generally rectangularf l n frame, or bent, asshown, here comprising two parallel, laterally spaced members 3, unitedat their upper ends by a crown 4. The lower end of each member, 3 ispivotally and lockably pinned, as ,at 5, at an ear or lug 6, on the bodyof the transporting vehicle. Hence, the mast,or bent I, can be erected,by hand or .by means of the guy wires, into an upright position, sittingvertically over the well, as shown in unbroken lines in Fig. 2; orlowered by'hand into a reclining position for transporting to anotherwell, as shown in Ibroken lines in Fig. 2. When raised, the mast issuitably braced, in the necessary directions, by anchoring the guy wiresshown.

The crown unit 4 includes, as best seen in Fig. 3, a transverse plate 1at each end of the crown unit, and two parallel, spaced members 8, hereshown as H-beams, connecting the plates 1, longitudinally of the head.

Each of the' members 3 is constructed toalso constitute a. hydraulicjack; that is, each member 3 includes an outer cylindrical pipe andanother cylindrical, pipe or strut '9, arranged concentrlcally andtelescopingly within the outer cylindrical member. Member 9 bears ahydraulic reaction-head, or Apiston I0, on its lower end,

` the major portion ofmember 9 constituting a strut. The respectiveplates 1 are rigidly united with the respective upper ends of themembers 9, to lie in a fixed position extending from front to back ofthe mast. The mast shown is about 40 feet long when folded in the truckand can be extended in the present instance to sixty feet. An axle IIextends transversely across the top of the crown, and its ends aremounted in strap type bearings I2, one such bearing :being mounted onthe upper face of each H-beam 8. The axle is free to rotate in thesebearings and bears a crown-block, or double sheave mem-ber I3, atapproximately the mid-point of the length ofthe axle, each of thesheaves I3 being independently rotatable on said axle.

Movably supported below the crown block I3, is a travelling block I4,terminating in a suitable hook I5, or equivalent member adapted to`engage the pump rod casing or other member to be removed from the well.

Secured to the crown to lie between the H- beams thereof, near theterminus of each strut 9, is a rotatable pulley member I6. The pulleysI6 are of the single sheave type and lie Vtransversely of the crown andat right. angles to the double sheave I3.

Mounted in brackets I1 near the lower end of each member 3 are pulleysI8. Each pulley I8 is of the single sheave type, and has its major planeparallel to that of double sheave I3 and, hence, perpendicular t0 theplanes of sheaves I6.

A continuous cable I9 is led, from a dead-end anchorage 20, first aroundthe right hand pulley I6 on the crown; thence around pulley I8; thencearound one of the sheaves of crown block I3, with a loop or bight I9droppedl therefrom to support and move the block I4; thence to pulf leyI8, thence to left side pulley I6, and thence to a dead end anchorage2I. tackle system; once rigged as shown in Fig. l, remains that way forevery job. l

A hydraulic line 22 is provided and leads from a suitable source offluid under pressure, includ- This block and' 4 I forty feet. Higherratio blocks and tackles may of course be employed. Suicient upwardlydirected force is thus applied to the casing to remove a section of it,whereupon the action is repeated on the successive sections. Byreleasing the hydraulic pressure from the piston cylinders, the load canbe lowered very simply, as contrasted to the usual mode of lowering theload by the brake bands on a winch. y

By virtue of the present means and construction, the necessity, amongother things, for leading of! the cable end to a winding winch or drumis obviated. Instead, both ends are dead-ended. All the blocks arerigged but once, and stay per'- manently so rigged.l In the exampledisclosed, due to the novel arrangement of the crown and the runningrigging, when the crown rises one foot, the block I4 rises three feet..lThat is, the block and tackle system is so constructed and arranged withreference tothe crown movement, that movement of the crown is tripled bythe rigging system. This power ratio may of course be so chosen as tobest suit the particular occasion. For the same lifting power developed,the number of the rigging lines and blocks is reduced .considerablybelow the number necessary in or dinary rigs.

If desired, the mast may be disconnected from the truck by removing thepins 5, and the lower ends of the bent anchored permanently in placearound the well, as in concrete foundations on each side thereof.

We claim:

In a portable mast mounted on a transporting vehicle and having the formof a structural bent including hollow legs: a hydraulic strut.telescopically mounted in each leg; a crown member -connecting thestruts together; hydraulic lying transversely of the crown and at rightangles to the double sheave pulley; a single sheave pulley operablyattached to each leg, said pulleys having their major plane parallel tothat of the double sheave and perpendicular to the planes ingv a pumpand a motor installed on the truck.

. and the fluid may be pumped vinto and withdrawn from line 22 by pumpmeans .drivenly connected to the engine of the vehicle. By thus'operating the crown, the usual winch and cable for operating the .blockand tackle are obviated. Also, since all the stress is, herein, putvertically upon the vertical mast, the mast and tackle do not have to beweighted down or tied down' to the vehicle.

In use, the vehicle is backed up to a well and the mast is erected overthe bore thereof. The .hook or the like, on block I4, is then engagedwith the casing to be removed from the well, and hydraulic pressure isappled to the bottom of the struts 9. The crown is thereby raised adesired distance and this distance is suitably multiplied by the blockand tackle system associated therewith. In the present instance, whenthe crown is raised ten feet, theblock I4 will rise of the rst mentionedsingle sheave; a continuousl cable led yfrom a dead end anchorage oneach leg around each of the first mentioned single sheave pulleys,thence around each of the second single sheave pulleys, thence aroundthe respective sheaves of the double sheave pulley and dependingtherefrom ina loop;v and a traveling block having a sheave supported bythe loop portion of the cable.

' ROY E. FIFE. l

ROY E. FIFE, JR.

REFEREN CES CITED The following references are of lrecord in the lile ofthis patent:`

UNITED STATES PATENTS Germany Jan. 17, 1935

